George Willâ€™s column gave only the big-business side of labor unions. His reminder that union membership is down significantly since the 1950s makes us guess this was by choice. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over the years, union and labor laws have been weakened by the actions of corporations working in cahoots with Republican politicians.

If I were to pay a tax deductible 2 percent of my wages in labor union dues so that I could have significantly better pay and working conditions, it would be a no-brainer. As a former union member, my dues were not extracted from me, nor was I herded into a union, as Mr. Will likes to mention. I joined a union by choice.

People of Colorado, become informed about what a labor union can do for you.

Truman Sager, Windsor

This letter was published in the Jan. 26 edition.

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Others don’t believe that individual compensation ought to be determined by consent of one’s peers. Nor should an employee be involuntarily compelled to join — and surrender money to — an organization corollary to one’s employment.

But that’s precisely what some — many? — union contracts demand, that every employee, whether they want to or not, must join and pay dues. Of course, it’s one thing if that’s the union environment when the employee is first hired. But often those contract provisions get put in place after the fact, when the non-member has no say, since non-members typically don’t vote on contract negotiations, as a means to beef up the number of employees the union represents and, thus, propping up their power.

So, Mr. Sager, tell us again how workers aren’t “herded into a union”? Sounds like one’s co-workers do the actual herding.

thor

You took the words out of my mouth. (Ouch.) Let me add, that I had to join the union after I landed my current job. Most of my fellow employees are union members because the union was there when they took the job. But my industry is not one where you can get a job by joining the union first. That may work in Chicago, but not here.

peterpi

Yeah, we know how that works, right? In your ideal world, the CEO of Amalgamated Megacorp. is on the same power footing as a stockroom clerk at Plant 742.
This isn’t the 1700s, where, if a key employee of a small blacksmith’s shop threatened to quit unless he got better wages, the blacksmith faced paying the employee more, and cutting into the business’ profits, or letting the man go, and seeing productivity drop while a new smithy came up to speed and possibly losing clients.
If a run-of-the-mill employee is disgruntled at Amalgamated Megacorp and threatens to quit, he or she is fired. And life is undisturbed for the CEO. Now, if ten thousand employees threaten to quit unless pay or work conditions are improved, suddenly the CEO is in the same situation as the blacksmith in my example. Big company CEOs loathe collective bargaining, they love pitting individual employees against each other.

ags4ever

wrong, peterpi, as usual. For an individual who has a good paying job shouldn’t have to pay 2 percent of his wages for the privilege of keeping that job. If he or she wants to do so, that’s acceptable, but even someone who’s willing to turn their life over to others should recognize that the union leadership in most unions is not interested in helping the individual union member, but only in getting more political money to bribe local, state and federal government legislators so that the unions can continue to suck their members dry.

ags4ever

Mr. Sager ignores the fact that he had a choice only becaue of section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley labor act of 1947, which guaranteed the right not to be forced to join a union solely for the purpose of getting a job in an industry.

But most labor unions still violate the law by taking up to 85% of their union dues and other “fees” to the national union headquarters/leaders, who then support political candidates that a majority of the union’s members do not support. Whether Mr. Sager accepts that truth or not, the big union bosses in washington are out for the same thing that all other politicians are out for, lining their own nests.

Dave52

Just think how much better this country would be if Walmart employees unionized and demanded a 40 hour week at a living wage with health benefits and a 401K. Instead of having so many employees on medicaid, food stamps, and all the other subsidies.

Robtf777

If Walmart employees unionized…….they WOULD get better wages/benefits…..maybe.

It depends on whether or not Walmart could retain its competitive “lower prices” edge…….and if Walmart would go the way a number of Department Chains have gone……..in which case “higher wages/benefits” could eventually mean “out of a job.”

Don’t believe it? Try buying a brand new Plymouth, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn…….and soon to be Suzuki……or fly on TWA…….or eat at HOPS, Marie Calendar’s or Black Angus (the ones in Lakewood closed…..some a long time ago……some recently)…….or shop at Montgomery Wards.

Walmart IS successful because a LOT of people DO shop there…..BECAUSE of the lower prices.

Change the “lower prices” to “not so low”……and Walmart could be shuttering a few stores here and there……and a trend will start that is very hard to undo.

Dave52

“Walmart is Americaâ€™s largest private employer and 300,000 of its workers haveaverage wages of just $8.75 per hour, forcing many of them to receive food stamps and other government welfare benefits to survive. But if a minimum wage hike boosted their pay to at least $12 per hour, Walmart could cover the costs by a one-time price rise of just 1.1 percent, and the average Walmart shopper would only pay an extra $12.50 per year. Meanwhile, a $12 minimum wage would increase the incomes of Americaâ€™s lower-wage work force by a total of over $150 billion each year, shifting those huge sums from the pockets of the sort of people who donâ€™t shop at Walmart to those who do. A minimum wage of $12 per hour would be very good for Walmartâ€™s business. ”

Labor Unions…..ARE Big Businesses….THEMSELVES……..and chances are that the “CEOs” and “Upper Management” of Labor Unions really aren’t that much different than any other CEO…….who likes a nice paycheck, benefits, and amenities.

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